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I think I'm getting burned out on hop bombs. Brought home a FW Union Jack and could drink it. Maybe it will pass, but at least for now I can't get enough toasty roasty cararely goodness. Seems like the less hops the better.

Awesome, glad I'm not alone. I'm not anti IPA, or thinking I'm cool and trendy, I guess I'm kind of surprised that I haven't found these spectacular flavors sooner. Looking over the recipes I've been brewing the past few months, with the exception of an ESB, they all use an ounce or less of hops. The biggest OG is 1.050 and my favorite is a simple little 70/-.

I have a half pound of each Simcoe, Centennial, Cascade, and Mosaic on standby though. Just in case ;-)

Same here. I love hops as much as anybody, but I hit overload after a while. I usually only brew 5 gallon batches of AIPA a couple times a year , and do smaller batches if I'm experimenting with new hops. But every time a hoppy batch is gone, I do something malty, roasty, or often Belgian. If I go out to a brew pub or beer bar I never have the same beer twice - always looking for a new experience. There are just too many good styles to be locked into one.

Title: Re: Malt head?
Post by: dcb on February 08, 2014, 02:43:24 PM

Amen. I'm getting tired of going into my local bottle shop and finding that 80% of the offerings are IPAs. I'm getting tired of going into a newly opened brewery and finding more than half of the selection are various riffs on the hop-bomb. I've started referring to them as AFIPA (Another F* IPA).

I do enjoy them, but come on-- it's a big world out there! I love malt and yeast too!

I don't mind a nicely balanced IPA with enough malt backbone to lend structure to the hops - Bell's Two-Hearted comes to mind. But the "I can add even more IBUs" enamel-strippers get old very quickly. Especially in colder weather, give me a bunch of malt and yeast complexity and warmth over raw hoppiness. The top of my list are Belgian Tripels right now.

I think I'm getting burned out on hop bombs. Brought home a FW Union Jack and could drink it. Maybe it will pass, but at least for now I can't get enough toasty roasty cararely goodness. Seems like the less hops the better.

Anyone else alpha intolerant these days?

Around here there's an AIPA or hoppy APA on tap at all times. There's also a malty winter beer and Belgian of some sort. Variety is the spice of life.

Beautiful balance makes a beer eminently enjoyable. My favorite place to drink has about 11-12 rotating taps. 10-11 of them range from 3.2% to under 6%. Mountains of malty flavor and plenty of hop aroma and flavor and very, very balanced beers. There's usually one bigger one with massive IBU's for the "Xtreme tasters" out there, but the bulk of their offerings are brewed for those who want to savor the flavor and appreciate all that a well crafted beer has to offer. Good Food is also important in this establishment, and the hops bombs don't play well with many foods.

I've made a lot of malty beers lately becauses this is the time of year that I make lagers and my basement has been perfect this year. I do see a hoppy beer in the near future after making 3 lagers and 2 Belgians. My beer ADD prevents me from focusing on one style for too long ???

I just kegged a 70 Shilling ale. My first experience with WY1728. The hydro sample was brilliantly clear and tasted awesome. The wort caramelization came through well, along with a great smoky yeast character. I can't wait for this one to carb up!

I just kegged a 70 Shilling ale. My first experience with WY1728. The hydro sample was brilliantly clear and tasted awesome. The wort caramelization came through well, along with a great smoky yeast character. I can't wait for this one to carb up!

I made my second 60/- several weeks ago and for a 3.2% abv beer I found it simply amazing. That's another recipe that, contrary to style, Dark Munich II found its way in the recipe and for the better.

One of my favorite styles that I don't see enough commercial versions of is Bockbier. Why do we 'mericans neglect this style?

I suppose there are exceptions to the rule, but it seems that shelf space is 75% of one style subcategory. The rest is dedicated to some version of IPA, and maybe a stout or a green bottle. One could say there are pale ales, ESB, etc... but anymore they are all creeping up in abv and IBU. The pendulum swing of meeting customer demand I suppose.

I have over 20 pounds of hops in the freezer, yet 8 of my last 10 beers I brewed have been malt-forward beers (and 1 of the remaining 2 was a lambic). I love hops, but there are a million commercial APA/IPA/IIPA's out there. The last 6 months or so I've had a few English/Scottish Ales and German Lagers that I've really liked, but I haven't been able to get my fill on the commercial stuff. Plus, I've brewed so many hoppy beers in the past 2 years that I feel the need to branch out.

I'm already starting to get a few ideas for new hoppy beers, so I'm sure I'll be back on the IPA train after I get the malty stuff out of my system.

I have a keg of Horst Dornbusch's Edel Hell on tap right now. Simply sublime! A light, but richly malt forward style that is only 3.9% ABV. I also have a 3 gallon keg of bock - and I agree that it is a style many homebrewers seem to avoid for some reason. Lagering on dry hops is a CP recipe - Claude of Neptune 2 - a dark lager that is not overly hopped, but assertive. Can't wait to carb and drink that one.

I love hoppy beers, but I brew one about every 5 or 6 batches nowadays. Used to brew an IPA probably every other batch. Brewing a lot more lagers and British styles now. I love a balanced beer in the 4-6% range. I like to be able to enjoy 3 or 4 or 5 if I want and not get palate fatigued or hammered.

Title: Re: Malt head?
Post by: euge on February 10, 2014, 02:59:34 PM

Yesterday I went out for a couple brews at a brewpub- Freetail Brewing... Anyway I had a English style Pale ale @30 and and a Simcoe IPA @65bu's.

Whew I could hardly drink the IPA! It was so cloyingly bitter. It was a good IPA but I was tasting that one way after finishing it. Enjoyment factor scaled way down. Guess I'm becoming a fuddy-duddy. ???

It's funny, I am mostly a malt head, well, that and yeast. I brew more belgians and big malty Barley wines than almost anything with a fair amount of the other stuff being british style session beers, porters, kolsch type malt focused beers but two of the last three brews for me have been IPA. I think they might have only been the 2nd and third IPAs I've brewed in 7 + years too.

I do agree that overly bitter IPA doesn't work for me but I love lot's of late hop goodness.

It's funny, I am mostly a malt head, well, that and yeast. I brew more belgians and big malty Barley wines than almost anything with a fair amount of the other stuff being british style session beers, porters, kolsch type malt focused beers but two of the last three brews for me have been IPA. I think they might have only been the 2nd and third IPAs I've brewed in 7 + years too.

I do agree that overly bitter IPA doesn't work for me but I love lot's of late hop goodness.

Other than the sour stuff you're brewing, I'm with you all the way.

My last British session beer came in low on the OG, though, so it tastes pretty hoppy. But not bad at all.